Chilli, one of the main commercial crops grown in the drought-prone Prakasam district, has fetched a premium price of up to ₹23,000 per quintal in the market now, thanks to good overseas demand for, among premium varieties , 'Teja', 'Badiga' , and 'Guntur Sannalu'.
Yet, the farmers are not a happier lot, as rampant pest infestation, in the wake of unseasonal rains, has snatched away much of the farmers’ produce.
‘‘We are not at all in a position to take advantage of the price rise of up to 170% when compared to the prices during the previous year,” said farmers in N.G. Padu village, even as the agents of traders made repeated visits to the farms to get whatever produce left with the growers.
We were hoping against hope to take advantage of the increase in demand as the uncertainty following the COVID-19 pandemic ended. But our hopes were dashed due to huge fall in productivity, they lamented.
Chilli growers in the district, a majority of them tenant farmers, are keeping their fingers crossed as they got an yield of a mere 3 to 4 quintals per acre against 25 quintals during normal times. With better irrigation facilities, the growers in the Gundlakamma tract usually get up to 40 quintals per acre.
“But ‘Thrips parvispinus’ infestation has put paid to our hopes,” they said in a conversation with The Hindu.
The farmers grow the spice crop in 50,000 hectares during kharif and another 12,500 hectares during rabi, spending up to ₹1.50 lakh per acre with a view to maximising the yield. The cash crop is mainly grown in the western parts of the district, including Markapur and Yerragondapalem, and in the areas close to Guntur district such as Inkollu, Parchur, Yaddanapudi, Martur, Karamchedu, and J. Ponguluru.
“I have spent about ₹1.50 lakh per acre on farm inputs to raise the spice crop. Now, I am clueless on getting back even half of the cost of production,” lamented a tenant farmer from Ravinuthala village, Gopinath, who was disinterested even to arrange for plucking by labourers as it involved additional expenses.
Compensation sought
Ranga Rao, Prakasam district convener of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella organisation of farmers, said the State government should provide a compensation of ₹lakh to each of the farmers, failing which the growers would have no option but to end their lives.
Input subsidy of ₹6,000 per acre would not suffice for the farmers who suffered severe damage caused by the climatic condition to the chilli ecosystem. Without waiting for crop cutting results, the insurance firms should provide compensation to the farmers based a survey conducted by a Central experts’ team in the Telugu-speaking States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
